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Jim Ryan announces his second run for Governor of Illinois in
Springfield on the steps of the state's Capitol building.
(AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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Gun owners beware: Jim Ryan announces
run for IL Governor
The Jim Ryan campaign has evidently realized that he faces an uphill battle to get support from gun owners in the Republican primary for Illinois Governor. Not only does Ryan face clearly pro-gun opponents like Kirk Dillard, Bill Brady, Adam Andrzejewski and Dan Proft in the primary, but he has worked very hard to alienate gun owners . . . until this year, when an apparent change of heart has led him to proclaim himself a defender of the 2nd Amendment with a "deep respect" for gun owners and gun rights. Unfortunately, Ryan's actions have not matched his words.
In 2000, then-Illinois-Attorney-General Ryan apparently thought anti-gun forces held all the cards and that he needed to position himself to counter Rod Blagojevich's wildly anti-gun positions by being just as anti-gun. He set up a dramatic "sting operation" in which his investigators would buy "assault weapons" illegally over the internet, but that backfired dramatically.
In 2002, Ryan won his party's nomination for Governor and ran against Rod Blagojevich, but he still opposed most Illinois gun owners on gun rights. He opposed concealed carry legislation, which seven short years ago was touted as one of his advantages--at the time, it was widely believed that right-to-carry laws were unpopular in Illinois and that no truly pro-gun candidate could win in Illinois. According to the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), he also refused to commit to four exceedingly moderate requests. The ISRA seems to have been attempting to meet Ryan halfway by not basing their endorsement on concealed carry or opposition to proposed assault weapons bans. Instead, they asked Ryan only to commit that, as Governor, he would:
- End the practice of stealing federal wildlife and conservation grants (paid for by firearm and ammunition excise taxes) in "fund sweeps" for other projects or the state's general fund, a method now made infamous by Governor Rod Blagojevich.
- See that the state built at least six recreational ranges (or opened existing state ranges to Illinois gun owners) the way our neighbors in Indiana and Missouri did long ago.
- Look for opportunities to expand hunting and fishing access on state-owned land.
- And, in the ISRA's words, "end the practice of playing the state's sportsmen as scapegoats for urban crime and violence."
Now, as 2009 draws to a close, Mr. Ryan claims that he has great respect for gun owners and the 2nd Amendment, and he can prove it: the ISRA, he said on Monday, endorsed him in 2002 because he was the best choice for gun owners. The ISRA, however, says that's not true--that Ryan and Blagojevich are both such bad choices for gun owners that their Political Victory Fund could not in good conscience make an endorsement in that race.
According to the ISRA, Mr. Ryan's staff told them frankly that the four positions listed above were "unrealistic" and that Mr. Ryan considered these four points an "extremist agenda." Mr. Ryan remembers it differently, according to his response to the ISRA, which was posted on his campaign's Facebook page almost immediately. Ryan's staffers from the 2002 campaign, he says, "recalled working closely with ISRA on several issues and remembered being endorsed." Clearly someone here is, to use Ryan's phrase, "err(ing) in our recollection." Either that or, as ISRA Spokesman Richard Pearson bluntly put it, "In 2002 we heard them lie about why Ryan wasn't endorsed by us, now we hear them lie about receiving our endorsement."
Comments
Good work once again, Don. Ryan is not getting my vote.
I'm Jim Ryan's campaign manager and the error in recollection referenced herein is mine. I worked with Todd Vandermyde in 2002 to develop Jim Ryan's policy positions on gun rights for his campaign for Governor. It's clear that he did not receive the endorsement of the ISRA and I did not recall that correctly. Jim Ryan does support the 2nd Amendment and will be a friend to the ISRA as Governor. I'm hopeful that people will support Jim Ryan based on the fact that he is a smart, dedicated and effective public servant and is our best chance in this state to elect a Republican Governor. Even if you disagree with Jim on some of his past and present positions, there are many other reasons to support his candidacy. I can guarantee you that he will be a better Governor for the ISRA than Quinn or Hynes would be.
Don, Illinois politicians have a habit of speaking out of both sides of the mouth when it comes to gun rights. Jim Ryan is no different from Obama or Blagovevich in this regard.
BTW, Don whatever happened to AHSA, and its head Ray Schoenke? They seem to be MIA since Obama's election. I'm not losing sleep over them, mind you - I could care less if their corpses were found floating in the Sargasso Sea - but, you do want to know what your enemy is up to.
Well, Mr. Campaign Manager, in that case prove it by having Mr. Ryan put in writing that he will sign a concealed and open carry law for citizens of Illinios, and personally hand it to Molly or someone in ISRA. If he does that, I'll consider voting for him. After I've looked at his position on abortion, taxation, and a few other things.....
There are other Republicans that are running, that would be clearly the better choice. Jim may have a few talking points that i may agree with, but again... it is all talk.
Pros vs. Cons.. He is definitely a Con.
Thank you Don.
John Pearman-- The 2A involves two parts: keep (have) and bear (carry). Unless he supports both parts of the same statement, it cannot be said Ryan fully supports the 2A. And unless he supports both parts he absolutely will not be getting my vote, or those of my family members.
I don't buy for a minute that he will be a friend to ISRA in the future when he has had such issues with them in the past.
Ryan may be smart, dedicated, and effective, but so are the other candidates and they support the 2A as well.
We're now the last state in the nation which does not allow the carrying of loaded firearms by law-abiding citizens. We don't need more politicians like Ryan standing in the way of our pursuit of national equality.
Luis, the AHSA is still out there, but they've basically decided that they've won their battle in defense of hunting and sports. Apparently the "hunters and shooters" can rest easy knowing that their rights are safe.
It's almost like they got quiet as soon as Barack Obama was sworn in, isn't it?
Luis, the AHSA is still out there, but they've basically decided that they've won their battle in defense of hunting and sports. Apparently the "hunters and shooters" can rest easy knowing that their rights are safe.
It's almost like they got quiet as soon as Barack Obama was sworn in, isn't it?
As long as you're commenting, would you or Mr. Ryan like a chance to explain his position on gun rights? For instance, I think it would benefit Mr. Ryan to lay out specifically what he will do for gun rights as Governor of Illinois that Pat Quinn won't do. They have the same position on right-to-carry, and it's the opposite of the ISRA and the Illinois Sheriffs Association.
With two months left in the primary, I freely admit that I don't see how Republican gun owners can vote for Mr. Ryan, given that they have serious pro-gun candidates in the race.
Yes, Mr. Vandermyde mentioned working with your campaign, along with representatives of the ISRA. But his account seems to agree with the ISRA's, in that he was unable to find much common ground for the NRA with your campaign.
For the record, Mr. Vandermyde works for the NRA, not the ISRA.
To sirmatthew:
Maybe I missed something, but when did Wisconsin pass CCW legislation? To the best of my knowledge, IL and WI are the only states that don't allow some form of CCW.
Luis, Wi. did not pass CCW. However, open carry of a loaded firearm is legal in all of Wisconsin. It seems many of their cops don't know that, but it is.
Therefore, what sirmatthew said is accurate. Il. is the only state in the nation which does not allow some form of "loaded" carry.
Great. The reason Blago came to town and dug us all into the hole we've got now is running for governor again.
Who wants to take bets on which shady democrat we get because of him *this* time?
Even if he wins the Primary, I still won't vote for him.
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